


Michael Jones' Day Off

by huntformagic



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Ferris Bueller AU, Homophobia, M/M, Peer Pressure, Team Lads, Team OG are the oblivious parents, ships dont really start happening until a ways, sorry but it'll be worth it, the lads decide to play hooky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-04-07 10:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4259700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntformagic/pseuds/huntformagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a sunny day in the May of his senior year, Michael Jones decides to skip school, dragging along his two best friends for a day that none of them will ever forget.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Not-So Sick Day

**Author's Note:**

> (So I saw someone post the idea of Michael dragging along the lads for a Ferris Bueller style adventure and could not get it out of my head, so this happened.)
> 
> “After all, playing by the rules is only for teenagers that can’t wrap the world around their finger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty dialogue heavy, sorry not sorry.

The alarm went off at precisely 7 am. Just like it did every day. The radio jockey droned on about the weather, “Another beautiful day in gorgeous sunny Austin. Temperatures are expected to stay in the low eighties. Right now it’s a comfortable 78 degrees. 82 in Dallas, 76 in San Antonio, 79 in Houston, 78 in…”

“Michael?” Jack paused, gently shifting his son’s shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. “Michael?” Michael groaned in acknowledgement but made no attempt to move. Jack placed the back of his hand Michael’s forehead.

“Geoff!” Jack’s voice pierced through the otherwise silent house as he yelled to his husband.

On the floor below, Geoff set down the bacon that he had just finished preparing, removed his apron and headed up the stairs, hearing the distress in Jack’s voice. “Breakfast is ready.” Geoff smiled and sauntered into his son’s room quickly pecking his husband on the cheek as he entered. He turned as Jack motioned towards Michael, clearly the source of his husband’s concern. “What’s up with him?”

“I think he’s sick again.” Jack was still leaned over with his hand on the forehead of the young red head. It was slightly warm, not enough to cause an alarm or waste the money on a doctor’s trip but still enough for him to be concerned. By this point Geoff had leaned forward and was also inspecting his son. Michael’s face was pale and his nose was slowly dripping snot. He sniffled, causing his freckles to wrinkle and emphasizing his flushed cheeks. Gingerly, he opened one eye and winced at the light coming from his doorway.

Geoff managed to catch a faint murmur of “Dad?” come from the boy’s lips.

“Feel his forehead, he’s warm.” Geoff did as Jack said and sure enough, the boy did feel a bit warm.

“He says that he’s feeling fine but obviously he’s lying. He has a low grade temperature judging from how hot his forehead is and his nose is more stuffed up than a teddy bear.” Jack leaned away from his son. Allowing Geoff to lean in and talk to him.

“What wrong, bud? Not feeling too hot? Or is that problem that you are feeling too hot?” Geoff chuckled at his own attempt to lighten the mood.

Michael grimaced in what Geoff supposed was an attempt to smile. He sniffled again and then spoke, “Nothing’s wrong. I can get up.” Michael pulled the cover off his bed and made as if to get up.

A solid, “No!” was heard from both his parents as they reached forward, guiding him back down into the bed.

“I have a test today,” was Michael’s only response as he again attempted to get up.

“Nope,” Jack replied.

“I have to take it.”

“No way, bud,” This time Geoff’s reply, finally getting the boy to lay back down on the bed. Jack quickly replaced the comforter over his son.

“I have to get a good education so I can have a fruitful life.”  


“Michael, there is no way that you are going to school like this, you got that?” Geoff’s words were resolute.

A slight knocking sound came from the entryway to the room. Ryan was standing there, leaning against the doorframe. “Great. What’s the mighty Mogar gotten up to now?” his exasperation clearly evident.

Jack turned to look at his elder son, “He isn’t feeling well.”

Ryan rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right. That’s a bigger pile of shit than anything Edgar’s ever made.”

“Well that’s probably because he’s a virtual cow, Ryan. By definition they tend to not shit.” Geoff’s retort was edging on annoyed.

“Ry-bread? Ry-bread is that you? I can’t see that far.” Michael picked up his head from the pillow squinting at the door in an attempt to see that far without his glasses. He reached almost desperately towards his brother and then his head quickly fell back into his pillow.

“Finally decided to keel over and die, twerp?” Ryan rolled his eyes.

Geoff also turned, now facing away from his youngest. “Thank you for your input Ryan. You need to be heading towards school now, don’t you?”

With Jack and Geoff’s backs both turned away from him, Michael leaned around his parents and shot his brother a thumbs up and a wink.

“Oh come on. Seriously? You’re gonna just let him stay home. You wouldn’t let me do that even if my insomnia was acting up all night! That’s totally uncool guys!”

“Rybread, Rybread please don’t be mad at them. You’re healthy, enjoy your youth while you can.” Ryan only responded with a deep glare that could only be described as murderous. Michael made a face and then quickly pressed his pointer finger to his lips with a smile. He then resumed his acting and groaned in an artificial pain.

Geoff and Jack turned back towards Michael with nothing but sympathy in both of their eyes, completely ignoring their other son.

“That’s it. I’m moving out as soon as I turn 18! If you need me, I will be at school. Where all perfectly healthy students are supposed to be!” Jack and Geoff glanced back and shouted their respective goodbyes as Ryan turned on his heel and left the house. In the distance they heard the front door slam as he headed to his car.

With one troublesome child gone, Jack and Geoff turned back to Michael who was clearly more awake then he had been before his brother had appeared.

“I’ll be fine guys. I’ll just sleep. I’ll take some Ibuprofen around noon or something.” Michael sniffled again at the end of his sentence.

Jack reached over and grabbed a tissue from the box beside his bed handing it to the red head and he pulled the sheets back into place.

Geoff stepped forward questioning, “If you’re sure you’ll be okay?”

Michael blew his nose gently into the tissue and nodded.

“Alrighty then. I’m just going to be recording and editing most of the day so if you need me, call my cell.” Geoff patted his son’s shoulder as Jack kept fussing with the covers.

“And I’ll be interviewing some gaming execs that are in town today but if you really need something feel free to call me too.” Jack patted his son’s forehead and made to leave for the door. Michael grabbed for his hand gently and stopped him for a moment.

“Thanks guys, it’s great to know that my parents care so much about me. You guys are the best.” He smiled weakly. Jack and Geoff both smiled widely and Jack reached down and kissed Michael’s forehead.

“Get better okay, Mogar?” Jack asked as he pulled away.

“Righto, Beardo.” Michael smiled and appeared to be descending into sleep again. As both his dads headed towards the door.

Geoff stopped in the doorway, glancing back at his son with a glint in his eyes, “We’ll be back at six o’clock bud, alright? If you need anything feel free to call. Love you.”

Michael’s sleepy grin froze, “Y-yeah. You got it, love you guys too.” was Michael’s stuttered reply as both his parents exited the room and shut the door.

Michael remained in bed for the next half hour, feigning sleep. Below him he heard his dads quickly eating the breakfast that Geoff had made and clean up the kitchen. A few minutes after that he heard the door close and the sounds of both his dads’ cars starting up and leaving the driveway.

He immediately jumped up, throwing off his comforter and jumping for joy. Yelling into the now empty house,“THEY BOUGHT IT!”


	2. How to: Fake a Sickness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The italicized words are Michael’s inner dialogue, similar to how Ferris directly talks to the audience throughout the movie.

Michael raced to the curtains on the far side of the room and threw them open, admiring the beautiful sunny day that the weatherman had promised him on the radio.

_Fucking amazing, one of the worst performances of my life and they didn’t doubt me for a second. I either have entirely too trusting parents, or far too naïve parents. But come one, how the fuck was I supposed to be able to stay in my seat and attend boring classes on a day like this?_

The sky was clear but for a few scattered clouds against a brilliant blue backdrop. The sun shone through Michael’s now open window, lighting his room with a brightness that was reflected by his grin.

Michael moved towards his computer, pulling up a couple music files to play as he prepared for his day. As the music began to filter through the computer speakers, Michael pulled up a couple audio files that were saved on his computer and began organizing them into a playlist.

 _This will be my ninth sick day this semester. It’s getting too difficult to come up with new seemingly random symptoms to play out._ With the playlist organized, Michael returned to his bed, stripping the sheets and both pillow cases before throwing them into the hallway to be put into the laundry. _If I want to miss another day, I’ll have to fake a heart attack or something. I need to make this one really count._

With the bed completely stripped, Michael moved to his closet, grabbing a fresh set of sheets and pillow cases and began remaking the bed. _A phony fever is common, but a good old runny nose and cough will get me almost anywhere with my dads. Clammy hands and random hives also usually do the trick but if I use those symptoms too many times, Geoff usually becomes suspicious._

For this specific escape, Michael had chosen to go the “simple” route, forgoing the far more elaborate set up that was required to gain some symptoms. He had simply set his alarm an hour in advance of when he knew his dads would check on him. When his alarm went off, he began to work. He moved to his reached under his bed and grabbed a pillow case that he had prepared earlier, replacing the one that had been on his bed the night before.

This case he had loaned to Gavin for a while. The Brit had placed it in his cat’s tree tower, letting them rub against it and cover it in fur and dandruff for weeks. Michael had been allergic to cats since he was 10, even being around Gavin at times with his fur covered clothes could cause him to sneeze uncontrollably. It was never anything too bad, just usually some puffy red eyes and stuffed up nostrils for a couple of hours. So as soon as Michael pulled out the case, he leaned his face in and took a deep breath through the fur, almost feeling his sinuses beginning to swell and making it harder for him to breathe properly. His mucus production picked up and he ran the back of his hand across his face, wiping away some of the snot that had already begun to accumulate there. He placed the case on the pillow that he tended to use less often and laid back down, making sure that his face was still close enough that he could smell the scent of the cats.

With his major symptom was now covered, Michael moved onto the next symptom, his fever. The set up for this was probably one of the simplest things that he had ever done to escape school. His dads tended not to grab the thermometer to check for temperatures, instead relying solely on how hot their sons’ foreheads felt. Knowing this, he simply placed one of his hands on top of his forehead, allowing heat and sweat to build up enough there that it would seem that he had a fever. Sure enough, a little over an hour later, his parent had declared him far too sick to go to school. Everything went according to plan.

_It was a little elaborate, but not anywhere near as elaborate and unnecessary as the trig homework that I had been assigned for today._

With the bed remade, Michael exited his room. He grabbed the allergen covered bed clothes and headed downstairs to toss them into the laundry machine. He moved past the kitchen, catching a whiff of the bacon that Geoff had prepare earlier. After quickly tossing in the garments and some detergent, Michael started the machine and began the journey back to his room. He paused again in the kitchen, snatching up some of the bacon and toast that Geoff had left out for him “just in case”. He quickly wolfed down the meager remains of his family’s breakfast and headed back up the stairs. As he passed Ryan’s room on his right, Michael stopped just outside of his office/ hardly used exercise room on his left. He snatched up two of the 10 pound weights from the dusty barbell set and continued down to the end of the hallway, where his room was.

_Life moves quickly, if I let all the daily stresses and troubles weigh me down, what’s the point?_

He tossed the weights onto his bed and headed towards the bathroom for a shower. He quickly disrobed and threw on the hot water, watching until he could see steam rising from the spray before jumping in.

 _I do still have that test to worry about though, I wasn’t just bullshitting the parental units._ He paused, grabbing the shampoo and coated his entire head in the soapy substance, working the suds into a nice lather. Actually managing to form his typically unruly curls into a Mohawk.

 _It’s in Astronomy and on the study of Interplanetary Bodies. I mean what’s the fucking point?_ He rinsed the shampoo from his russet curls. He grabbed the conditioner and generously applied that to the top of his head. _I’m not an astronaut. I’m not ever gonna be an astronaut. So who gives a shit about what’s going interplanetary bodies? A comet could be coming to destroy the planet at this very moment, it still wouldn’t change the fact that I have no way of driving and trying to escape it._ He grabbed some soap, cleaning the rest of his body.

Michael then grabbed the shower head, using it as a microphone as he began singing, “Let the rain fall down, and wake my dreams! Let it was away my san-it-ty.” He tapped his foot on the bottom of the shower stall with the beat of his off-key singing and continued, “Cause I wanna feel the thunder I wan-na scream. Let the rain fall down, over me! Or something, coming clean!” As he finished his voice shifted into what as an attempt at fake applause. He then returned to his task of rinsing himself off, making sure that every single part of him was squeaky clean, and I do mean _every part._

After he finished cleaning himself off, Michael shut off the water. He dried himself off and threw one towel around his waist and another around his head. _It’s not that I don’t care about space. It’s pretty and stuff, it’s just why admire something that will probably unattainable for the entirety of your life? A man should set realistic goals. If I really want to visit an interplanetary body, I’ll go play a few rounds of Halo for a couple hours. Of course, I could drive warthogs in Halo all day but I’d still have to rope others into giving me rides **.**_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

In what would have been Michael’s first period class, roll was now being called.

“Andersmith?”

A deep voice responded solidly, “Here.”

“Bitters?”

There was a sigh and then a disgruntled response of, “Here.”

“Caboose?”

A reply of a “hello’’ that could only be described as silly could be heard to Mr. Nutt’s left.

“Church?”

A hand was raised near the back of the room.

“Donut?”

“Lovely to see you today, Mr. Nutt!”

Mr. Nutt nodded his head in the direction of the student and continued down the list. “Grey?”

A bubbly voice replied with, “Present!”

“Grif… Dexter Grif?”

Mr. Nutt looked up from his paper and glanced around the room, searching for the student. Towards the middle of the classroom there was the snort of someone waking up. Mr. Nutt turned to see Dexter Grif now sitting up at his desk, attempting to wipe away the drool on his face. Next to him, another student by the name of Simmons was snickering. Grif raised his hand and groaned, “here,” with his voice managing to crack on the word.

“Thank you for waking him, Simmons. Mr. Grif, I will remind you that this is the third time that you have fallen asleep in class this week, do try to stay awake.”

Mr. Nutt waited for a mumbled response of “sure, whatever,” before he resumed calling roll. “Now who’s next… Jensen?”

“I’m here, thir!” A lisp could be heard in the back of the room, not too far from where Bitters and Andersmith sat.

“Jones?”... “Jones?”... “Jones?” This time while glancing around the room, Mr. Nutt was unable to see the intended student, instead spotting two empty desks near the large window to his right.

“Um, Mr. Nutt, sir?” A hand was raised in the front row of the class.

“Yes, Ms. Grey?”

“Michael’s sick today. My friend’s coworker’s brother’s girlfriend knows this guy who saw this snapchat of him passing out at Rudy’s last night. It must be very serious.” She smiled towards her teacher.

“Thank you for telling me that, Emily.” Mr. Nutt cast the girl a weary smile and continued taking attendance. “Kimball?”

“Present, sir!”

“Narvaez?”… “Narvaez?”… “Narvaez?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to drop by my tumblr, huntforachievements.tumblr.com, and ask me any questions you may have about the story. Or if you wanna just stop by and talk for fun, that's cool too.


	3. Achievement Unlocked: A Call to Dad

Somewhere in the background behind the noise of his video game, Ray heard the house phone ringing. He ignored the noise, instead choosing to turn up the volume of his video game. He’d been trying since 5-fucking-am this morning to get this goddamn achievement and he was _so_ close. He wasn’t about to let almost four hours of intense concentration go just to grab the phone for what was probably just a telemarketer calling to offer his parents some “great deal”.

As his gaming continued, he eventually heard the phone stop and the sound of the machine clicking, signally that the person had hung up. He advanced his character towards another group of enemies, quickly wiping them out with his rifle before moving forward towards what was supposed to be the final boss, meaning that he would finally unlock the 100% achievement that had been escaping him. Just as he entered the boss’s area, his cell phone started to ring. At this point, Ray realized that whoever had just called the house was probably trying to get ahold of him and not his parents but he was _busy._ If they were important, they would understand.

One does not just waste four hours of work to answer a fucking phone call. Especially on one of his gaming days. Those were reserved solely for eating Doritos, earning achievements, and forgetting that the rest of world existed.

So he let his phone ring and ring until it too went to voicemail. His phone then sounded with the notification of a text message. Ray winced at the shrill noise of screams that the phone put out. _I really need to change that fucking ringtone._ He did his best to ignore it as he launched his attack on the boss. He dodged out of the way of grenades that were thrown towards him, ducking behind cover wherever he could find it.

The screams of another incoming text reverberated through the room. His guided his character out from behind cover, throwing a grenade at the boss before then barrel rolling towards the edge of another building.

Another scream, another text. Ray’s hand twitched, causing his character to almost come out from behind his cover. With shots still aimed at him, his character waited until there was a break for the boss to reload and then popped out, loading the enemy up with bullets.

Another scream, this time from both the game and his phone. Ray tightened his grip on the controller, refusing to let go until he finished. He watched as his opponent’s health bar shortened more and more as he was loaded with bullets.

Another scream. His character’s gun clicked, signaling that he was out of bullets for that particular weapon. He ducked back behind another corner.

Another scream. Ray grunted in frustration at the annoying connection to the outside world, considering throwing it at the wall to make it stop. Instead, he chose to throw one final grenade at his opponent, watching as he dropped to the ground and died.

Another scream. Ray he did his utmost to ignore it. He stared intently at the screen, waiting for the last cut scene to play. Just as it finished, he heard the delightful sound of an achievement pop up, signaling that he had completed the entire game. Only then did he pick up his phone and check his messages.

The screen read, “7 New Messages and 1 Missed Call.” Ray began grumbling to himself and unlocked the screen, opening up the texts which were all from the same idiot.

 **09:01:53: New Jersey Jackass:** Ray, answer your damn phone.

 **09:02:15: New Jersey Jackass:** Seriously dude, it’s important.

 **09:03:09: New Jersey Jackass:** Come oonnn man

 **09:03:42: New Jersey Jackass:** I haven’t got all day to wait on you.

 **09:04:04: New Jersey Jackass:** I know you aren’t sleeping

 **09:04:16: New Jersey Jackass:** You need to leave your fucking house for once Ray

 **09:05:08: New Jersey Jackass:** RAY!

Ray closed out of the texts and called Michael while moving toward the kitchen to grab another Red Bull. The phone wasn’t even able to finish its first ring before Michael answered.

“Ray! About time you picked up.”

Ray only chose to groan in response, knowing that tone of voice. That was Michael’s “I need something from you” voice. As he entered the kitchen, he placed his phone on the island in the middle of the room, switching it to speaker mode so that he could open the cabinets with little struggle. Michael continued, unphased by the sound of slamming cabinet doors.

“What are you up to today?”

Ray stopped his rummaging and turned to glare at the phone, knowing that Michael was up to something. Cautiously, he answered, “Not much, just defeated the boss in Cry of Honor and 100 percented the game.”

“So a typical day in the Narvaez household. How long did that take you?”

“Would’ve taken less time if I wouldn’t have been constantly interrupted by a screaming phone.”

“Well, I told you to change that text tone. Anyway, Es tu madre en la habitación?”Ray rolled his eyes. “I heard madre, so I’m assuming that you asked about my mom. She’s currently in Dallas. Sadly, she’ll be home later tonight to drag me away from my consoles.” Ray paused and thought for a moment, _Shouldn’t Michael be in school right now?_ “Wait, what are you even doing calling me, don’t you have classes right now?” Ray’s parents were pretty cool about him not attending his classes. His grades were good enough that there was practically no way he go fail any of them with only a month of school left to go. As long as he graduated on time, his parents were fine with whatever he chose to do with his time. Michael’s dads, however, were a completely different story.

Michael quickly replied, “I’m taking a mental health day. Now come on, let’s hang out.”

Giving up hope of finding anything good in the cabinets, Ray grabbed a bag of chips of the counter and a fresh Red Bull from the refrigerator. “Not happening. Today is game day.”

Michael scoffed, “Practically every day is game day for the great Brownman. You’re Gamerscore isn’t going to decrease if you stop playing for a while. Come on, come outside with the rest of humanity.”

Ray picked up the phone, balancing it on top of his chips and headed back to his bedroom. “I promised myself that I would get to my next hundred thousand before then end of the month. I only have one week left Michael, not happening.”

“Oh and with ten thousand Gamerscore left, that’ll be a real struggle. Leave your fucking house, Ray.” Michael then hung up with a click.

Ray kicked open the door to his room, tossing the phone onto the bed and popping the top on the Red Bull. He sat back down at the foot of his bed, setting the Red Bull next to him on the floor and opening up the bag of chips. He then grabbed the controller, looking through his games. _Now, what to play next._ Before he managed to choose, his cell phone began to ring again. Ray craned his head to glare at the offending device but still reached over and answered it, again setting it on speaker.

It was Michael again saying only, “and don’t even think about grabbing another game, you’re coming over. I’ve got some good shit planned for today,” before he hanging up again.  

Ray again glared at the phone, turning back to his console. ~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at Michael’s house, he was preparing a smoothie to enjoy while he waited for Ray to come over.

_If anyone needs to get away from his video games for a day, it’s Ray. Besides, he still hasn’t decided what he wants to do after high school. At this rate he’ll either become a great video game streamer or a poster child for a 40 year old living in his parents’ basement._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ray had chosen to ignore Michael’s advice somewhat and had opened up Tetris to help kill time while he thought about whether or not he should leave. By level 20, he was struggling to stay below the top of the screen and avoid certain death.

“Come on, give me a fucking straight piece!” Moving to place yet another square piece to the left of the tower that had begun to accumulate in the center of the screen.

He accidentally placed another piece on the tower. “Fuck!” He began humming Eye of the Tiger, attempting to avoid the tower at all costs. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the straight piece he desperately needed appear in the “Next” box. He rejoiced. Just then his phone went of next to his leg. He looked down for a second, his screen lighting up and tell him that he had another text. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice that the piece that he currently had in play was now set atop of the tower on his screen.  

When the screen popped up with “Game Over” Ray yelled loud enough to be heard at the other end of the house. “YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Michael had chosen to lay out by the pool in his backyard. He knew that Ray probably would not want to leave his Xbox anytime today. But the boy had a problem; he hardly left the house anymore. Sure, he when to school and Michael was able to see him there but since he and Ryan had started dating, it seemed like his brother got to see his best friend more than he did, and that simply wouldn’t do.

_Ray is a disappointment to teenagers everywhere._

Michael grabbed the drink that he had prepared earlier and took a sip, staring at the calm pool water that lay before him.

_He is so addicted to hunting achievements that if you compared him to a chimp on heroin, you would send Ray to rehab first._

Michael chuckled at his own thought, quickly finishing off the drink and moving back inside his house. He had other things to take care of while he waited on Ray to get his ass in gear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack’s phone began to ring just as he pulled up to the convention center where he was supposed to be meeting the gaming executives for his interview with them. Jack finished his parking job and grab his phone, answering it on its final ring.

“Jack Pattillo speaking.”

“Mr. Pattillo, this is Flynt Coal, the principal at Achievement High.”

Jack’s eyes widen, realizing his mistake. “Oh shoot. I am so sorry, I totally forgot to call the school.”

Principal Coal grunted in response before droning on, “Then you are aware that Michael isn’t in school today.”

“Yes, yes I am. Michael’s home sick with a fever. I’m sorry I didn’t think to call but I’m having a meeting today with some really important executives. I was so focused on that, I guess calling just slipped my mind. I know I should’ve called, my apologies, Principal Coal.” Jack grabbed his wallet from the console of the car, locking the doors with a beep before beginning to walk towards the building.

“You are also aware then, sir, that your son does not have what we here at Achievement High would call a perfect attendance record?”

“I’m sorry?” Jack opened the door to the building, stopping in the lobby to continue his conversation.

“His attendance average has dropped below a respectable amount. In my professional opinion, Michael does not seem to be taking his education seriously, as evidenced by his repeated tardiness and absences. I’ve been playing close attention to his records, Mr. Pattillo. If Michael thinks that he can just coast through the rest of the semester without trying, and still expect to graduate, he is severely mistaken.” Coal paused, allowing Jack time to think about what he had just said. “I would not be afraid to place him in summer school if need be or even making him come back for another year.” Coal smiled.

Jack raised an eyebrow and interjected, “This is completely new to me.” He then turned, covering up the phone’s mic before asking the receptionist in the lobby to inform the executives that he had arrived. He then returned his attention to Principal Coal’s bemoaning of his son.

“It usually is,” Coal turned to his computer screen, looking at Michael’s attendance records before continuing. “So far this semester, I have it recorded that he has missed a total of nine school days, including today.”

That got Jack’s full attention and he rocked forwards on his toes a bit. “Nine days?”

Coal nodded as if Jack could see him before replying, “Yes sir, nine times.”

Jack paused before replying, “Well… I don’t remember him being sick nine times.”

“That’s most likely because he wasn’t actually sick. He was skipping school. Mr. Pattillo, just believing your child all the time can be a bit too idealistic. Children are known to take advantage of that.”

“Maybe most kids, but I find it hard to believe my Michael would do that.”

“I can see it right here on my screen, sir. He has missed…” Coal’s momentum in his speech slowed and came to a grinding halt. He watched as the read out on his screen that showed Michael’s sick days ticked down from a red “9” to a green “2”. His eyes widened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the Ramsey-Pattillo household, Michael could now be found sitting at his brother’s computer. He had managed to hack his way into the school records system using some tricks that he had learned from Ryan and Gavin. He changed his attendance record. _I ask for a new console controller after I broke my latest one in two, which I don’t even get. Meanwhile, perfect Ryan asks for a new computer set up for his birthday and gets some of the best tech on the market. Guess I’ll just have to make do with what I have access to._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coal was dumbfounded. He stared at the screen for another moment before turning to yell at his secretary. “Phyllis…” He turned back to the screen and rubbed his eyes, hoping that it would somehow change back. With no response from his secretary he again turned and yelled, this time much louder. “PHYLLIS!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack was becoming frustrated with the principal’s sudden lack of response. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the receptionist waving him down. He approached the receptionist and she informed him that the first executive that he would be seeing was ready and waiting for him upstairs. He thanked her and made his way to the elevator, yanking the phone away as from his ear when he heard a loud shout for someone named Phyllis on the other end.

When he returned the phone to his ear, he wanted to yell back at the Principal for being so unprofessional and practically breaking his ear drum. Instead, he took a breath and began talking calmly, “Look, Principal Coal I appreciate your concern but I can promise you that Michael is at home and in bed. In fact, if I didn’t have this incredibly important interview today with some incredibly important people, which is about to start by the way, I wouldn’t have left him alone at all.” Jack paused for emphasis and just barely heard yet another scream for Phyllis, though this one much more muffled. He continued, “I can understand that many kids this time of year are prone to skipping but I can assure you that Michael is in fact quite sick. Goodbye, Principal Coal.” Jack hung up the phone, left the elevator, and walked into the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated. I would also appreciate if you guys could point out any typos to me if you spot them. Feel free to drop by my tumblr, huntforachievements, if you would want to talk about the story, maybe give me some critiques, or just to stop by and talk for fun, that's cool too. See you in the next chapter!


	4. Things to do in: The Meantime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with this story. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Michael sat in his parent’s bedroom. He had pulled out an old acoustic guitar from back when Geoff was a roadie, it had been signed by some band member that he had been friends with.

Michael strummed randomly back and forth across the guitar strings. The instrument was horribly out of tune from years of disuse. But, it wasn’t like Michael had taken guitar lessons or anything. He had no idea how to play the instrument, let alone correctly tune it.

After a few minutes of pretending to attempt playing the instrument he became bored. Replacing the guitar back into its dusty case and returning it to the back of his father’s closet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Achievement High School, Ryan was sat in his first second period class. He groaned. Though he’d had over an hour to get over it, he was still mad that Michael had been allowed to stay home that day. His attitude had not improved from what it had been earlier in the morning, in fact, it had only managed to sour even more.

History was a subject he was adept at but didn’t much care for. His teacher was droning on and on about something involving the weapons development in Asian cultures, and how they first discovered the powerful dust that would later be named gunpowder. More information Ryan already knew, he’d taken the class for an easy A. In an attempt to alleviate his boredom, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Ray was usually a good source of entertainment, even if he was always a bit distracted on his gaming days. Keeping it in his lap, he typed up a quick message and clicked send.

 **09:38:06:** Did you managed to get that achievement yet?

Ray had been texting him throughout the night as he had worked his way through the video game he was playing. Unsurprisingly, Ryan hadn’t been able to get much sleep anyway, his insomnia acting up again. Instead, he had taken to reading a comic book and keeping Ray company in the early hours of the morning. Ray was easy to talk to, and since his sleeping habits were almost as bad as Ryan’s they usually talked until one of them passed out, either from Ryan’s insomnia finally subsiding or from Ray running out of Red Bull and crashing.

After sending the text, Ryan pretended to look back up towards his teacher.

Dr. Church’s southern drawl had begun to put a couple of the students to sleep. He had begun to read from Sun Tzu’s Art of War. _Take a class on warfare tactics and weaponry, they said. It’ll be fun, they said._ Ryan sighed in his boredom and began looking around the room. _Not only have I learned nothing, but this will definitely not help me in the future._

 Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan made out his friend Kerry slumped over his desk, just barely making out the bit of drool coming out of his mouth. Ryan flicked the cap from his pen towards his friend’s sleeping form, attempting to wake him. At least then, he wouldn’t be the only one bored. He watched the cap sail through the air, just barely miss hitting the top of Kerry’s head.

In the middle of his reading, Dr. Church had picked up his book and slammed it down for emphasis. Ryan’s attention returned to front of the classroom. So, wrapped up in his reading Church didn’t even notice the three people in the room who suddenly jerked awake, Kerry included.

Ryan allowed his eyes to droop a bit and leaned his head into his hand. _Not like I’d be able to sleep off this boredom anyway. Only Ray seems to help with alleviating that._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bell rang at 9:55 at Achievement High, signaling the end second period.

 _Finally!_ Ryan stood, quickly throwing his books into his backpack before heading out into the crowded hallway.

Kerry was waiting for him outside the door, drool tracks mostly wiped from his face.

“Hey Rye.”

“Kerry,” Ryan lifted his chin in a gesture of hello, “how was the nap?” They began walking towards the gym, Kerry unfortunately had a PE class but Ryan had an independent study in the theater that block.

Kerry chuckled, “Brutal, Dr. Church just can’t seem to get it in his head that some people are trying to sleep in there. Incredibly inconsiderate.”

“Ah yes, damn those teachers and their inability to let sleeping students lie.” Ryan rolled his eyes but still chuckled at his friend’s sarcasm.

“Yeah. Anyway, I was sorry to hear about Michael, dude.”

Ryan’s step faulted a bit, causing a distance to be created between him and Kerry. He furrowed his brow and began walking in rhythm before questioning, “What are you sorry for? I’m the one that has to live with the idiot.”

Kerry then stopped altogether, in the middle of a very crowded school hallway. “That seems kinda harsh, he is your brother after all. Anyway I heard he was really sick, wanted to send my best wishes his way.”

Ryan’s once confused eyes narrowed and his voice lowered a bit as he angrily retorted, “Who’s been saying that bullshit?”

Kerry looked a bit taken aback at Ryan’s hostility but answered genuinely, “Most of the school. They’re saying that he’s really sick.” Ryan began to grit his teeth while Kerry continued. “Rumor has it that if Michael dies he’ll be donating all of his organs to veterans who are unable to get cybernetic enhancements. Good idea, ya know?”

Ryan’s glare just tightened as he stared at Kerry. It wasn’t like he was mad at Kerry specifically, he just hated the whole situation. Only Michael would be able to get most of the student body taking about one thing in less than an hour. And he wasn’t even at the freaking school to be spreading the rumors!

Kerry squirmed under his friend’s intense gaze. Kerry shuffled from foot to foot a bit before stating, “Well that looks like the gym, okay, gotta go run a mile. Bye!” He knew better than to try and talk to Ryan when he was mad about anything, he would practically murder anyone that got in his way.

Ryan watched as his friend nearly ran for the door, furious with his little brother. He began walking again toward the theater, passing Gavin in the hallway.

“Hi Rye-bread!” The Brit nearly ran into Ryan as he attempted to great his friend.

“Shut up, Gav,” was Ryan’s only reply as he passed by the freshman lockers, continuing towards the theater.

Kdin, Matt, and Jeremy were all huddled around the table with a phone at the center.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “Seriously Michael, do not be pulling one of Jeremy’s incredibly short legs here.” In the background of the call, Michael could make out Jeremy’s indignant cry of “HEY!” before Matt continued, “How sick are you really?”

“You know how that ghost lady in the new Silent Hills trailer looks when she catches you? Face all cover in mucus, deathly pale, that sort of thing?”

“Yes?”

“She probably looks better than I do right now. Probably feels better too, even if her husband murdered her. Death would be better than this.” Michael’s fingers were clicking on the keyboard beneath him but his microphone was turned down enough that the Mates wouldn’t hear him.

“Holy shit, you’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I wish I was kidding.” Michael removed the phone from his cheek and set it in front of his computer’s speaker. He pressed enter on his computer, causing various meshed up sick noises to begin playing. _Freshmen._ After a couple seconds, Michael brought the phone back up to his ear.

Kdin spoke up at this point, “God Michael, sorry you’re feeling so awful. We appreciate you letting us know how you’re doing but we gotta go dude. Feel better.”

“Yeah, that’s fine dude, totally understand,” Michael pulled the phone away from his face and clicked the end call button. He paused for a moment, and then selected the next number into his contact list. He raised the phone to his ear, waiting for it to connect. _Come on, Come on. I know you aren’t in class right now._

On the fourth ring, he finally picked up. “Hello?”

“Hey Miles.”  Michael dragged the phone away from his face, actually sneezing this time. _Damn cat hair must not be completely out of my system yet._

“Oh sup Michael, how’s the hospital?”

Michael clicked on a couple of coughing soundtracks and threw in a random beeping noise in the back.

“Oh my god, you’re dying aren’t you?”

“One sec,” Michael pulled the phone away from his face, sneezing several more times. After the third sneeze, when he finally calmed down he sniffed and dragged his hand across his nose. He then brought the phone back up to his ear.

“Aw that sucks man, how serious is it?” Miles voice raised a bit in concern.

“I don’t know, doctors think I might need a heart transplant.” Michael smiled and attempted to keep himself from chuckling.

“Fuck man, that’s a bitch.”

“Yeah,” Michael’s reply was a bit stuffed up from all of his sneezing.

In the background Michael could make out Miles talking to someone else while he couldn’t make out the other person, he did hear Miles’ replay of “Okay I’ll ask.” Michael heard the phone shuffle a bit and Miles’ voice became more distinct when he asked, “Hey, think you’ll be able to check out of there by the weekend?”

Michael perked up a bit and responded, “Probably, why?”

“Monty’s holding a dance party up at his house. Maybe I’ll see you there then, okay?” Michael heard the bell for class ring on the other end of the line. “Oh shit, sorry man but I gotta go, Ozpin will kill me if I’m late for class again. Bye!”

Michael heard his phone beep, signaling that the call had been ended. He only had one call left to make to the school now. He scrolled back up to the number that he wanted and began typing a text out the recipient.

_Boi, just waiting on a certain Puerto Rican to get the fuck out of his house, almost ready to go. Be there in a while._

He clicked send. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated. I would also appreciate if you guys could point out any typos or errors to me if you spot them. Feel free to drop by my tumblr, huntforachievements, if you would want to talk about the story, maybe give me some critiques, or just to stop by and talk for fun, that's cool too. See you in the next chapter!


	5. Five Facts - Principal Coal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit shorter than usual, I had originally planned for this to just be part of another chapter but it got away from me so I made it its own. Anyway, I had some real fun writing some of the lines for this chapter. So I hope you all enjoy them!

Principle Coal’s office had been surprisingly empty today. So far, he only had one student come in to deal with. Cardin and his friends had been caught harassing another student today. A teacher had noticed in the hallway between classes and had sent the leader of the group up to the principle, he had been the only one messing with the girl at the time. Cardin was a good kid though. Straight, came from a good, traditional family, Coal understood that boys like Cardin were prone to acting out in high school. And while it was Cardin’s third time being sent to his office this semester, Coal had chosen to let him off with another warning.  

Coal’s lack of things to do caused his mind to drift a bit. He was again drawn to the call that he had had to make to Mr. Pattillo about his son. When he had looked up who to call, he was reminded that Michael in fact had two fathers. He groaned and selected the parent that was chosen as the primary contact. Mr. Pattillo claimed that Michael hadn’t actually missed that many days of school. He practically attacked Coal in Michael’s defense. While it was nothing Coal was unused to, being a public school principle, he never liked having parents challenge his authority.

Coal knew what he had seen, Michael’s attendance had been less than stellar this entire year, bordering on punishable. When he had brought up Michael’s online records to confirm this, however, he watched as the number ticked down to a meager 2, hardly anything to raise flags about. His temper reared its head causing him to shout for Phyllis to demand answers. While he was barely paying attention, he had heard Mr. Pattillo angrily huff a reply and hang up. When Phyllis had finally arrived, he demanded to see other records of Michael’s attendance. Phyllis then reminded him that the school’s records had been transferred to an online system from their paper filing system several years before, meaning that Coal had no other ways to view Michael’s record. He had no way to prove his theory. _Stupid “advanced” technology. Paper wouldn’t have been able to be altered like this._

He had then asked Phyllis to help him comb through anything that might be helpful for finding out if Michael was lying. She had mentioned that two of Michael’s teachers also kept private records of attendance that they would occasionally use while grading. Coal had demanded that these teachers hand over their private records for him so that he could review them, not telling them the true reason for his order.

So now he sat with two notebooks full of classroom attendance sheets. He had been flipping through them for about a half hour until he finally gave up. Slamming the books in front of him, he simple glared. The records in these did in fact show that Michael had only missed two days in these classes, the same two days in fact. However, on a few of the days, Michael’s signature seemed to have been slightly off, the J’s more a loop than his typical curve. Unfortunately for Coal, this didn’t prove anything. These were unofficial records, so even if he had wanted to use them to prove something, they weren’t able to be used to support him.

At the noise of the books being slammed down, Phyllis had wandered back in. She was gaining in years, gray coming in at her temples and well into her sixties. But she had a bright smile and was almost annoyingly perky about every situation, eager to please her boss. She had sat next to Coal’s desk and was pretending to ignore his glares. After a few moments of them both sitting there, Coal sighed and began to speak.

“I know I do not trust this kid. I don’t trust him any more than I trust these ridiculous computers.”

Phyllis rolled her eyes at Coal’s statement. While she was gaining in years, she was quite adept at using computers, often assisting Coal and even Dr. Church when either of the aging members of faculty were struggling.

“Yes well, with your history of breaking them and their parts, I don’t suppose they would trust you either, Flynt,” she chuckled. Coal’s eyes hardened at the statement, causing Phyllis’ giggling to stop. Her smile, however, remained ever present. “Well you have snapped your keyboard in two multiple times,” she shrugged and smirked a bit.

Coal sighed, acknowledging the fault. “What makes Michael Jones such a danger is that his “progressive” ways of thinking, of warping the system so that he can skip school with ease, it gives good kids bad ideas.”

Phyllis’ smile dropped a bit, becoming more one of concern and understanding, “Oh yes.”

Coal continued forward, “The last thing I need towards the end of my career is little copies of Michael Jones running around the school. It puts my way of making sure that kids learn the correct things, and learn them effectively, at risk.”

Phyllis rolled her eyes at the statement, “Not to mention he makes you’re traditional ways of governing the school look obsolete. And more importantly, it makes you look like an ass.” She was still smiling, even as she saw the anger flare up in Coal’s eyes.

“I know,” Coal grit his teeth and he forced out the words, “thank you so much for your support, Phyllis.”

“Oh, don’t take that in such a bad way. I’m just pointing out, Michael Jones is an incredibly popular student. All the cliques around school love him. The Freelancers, RWBY girls, B-Teamers, Funhausers, Reds, Blues, Faunus, Hunters; they all adore him. They think he’s a great guy.”

Coal groaned and leaned back a bit, bringing his hands up to rub his eyes. Then he slide them down his face, opening his eyes with a glare to Phyllis. “And that is exactly why I _know_ I need to catch this kid. To show these kids that being like Michael is not okay!” He picked up the two notebooks and gave them back to Phyllis. “Please make sure that these get back where they belong, and tell the teachers that I appreciate their cooperation.”

“Sure, Flynt. Anyting I can do to help,” she grabbed the notebooks and set them in the crook of her arm and smiling widely.

Coal’s hard expression softened a bit to one of appreciation. “Thank you, Phyllis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated. I would also appreciate if you guys could point out any typos or errors to me if you spot them. Feel free to drop by my tumblr, huntforachievements, if you would want to talk about the story, maybe give me some critiques, or just to stop by and talk for fun, that's cool too. See you next week!


	6. Hot Seat Featuring Ray Narvaez Jr.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter!

His phone’s ring resounded the room. Ray grumbled and reached for it. As he unlocked the screen he saw it briefly flash to his earlier conversation with Ryan before connecting the call through to Michael.

“I’m serious Ray, your making me wait for your lazy ass is just ridiculous.”

Ray sighed in exasperation. _I knew I shouldn’t have picked up the goddamn phone again._ “Then maybe you should just stop waiting for something that isn’t going to come. Why can’t you just let me get achievements in peace?”

“Ray, this is my ninth sick day. If I get caught, not only will my dads kill me but I probably won’t be allowed to graduate this year. I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for you.”

“Oh sure, for me. That’s why you’re wanting to drag me away from the only thing I both enjoy doing and am good at.”

“Oh, man up. You are better than just your gamer score. You know who doesn’t like to leave their houses? Babies. Now set down the controller, throw on some clean clothes, and come get some sun on that shockingly white Puerto Rican skin. I’m tired of this waiting on you shithead.”

“Oh shut the fuck up.”

Michael heard a beep signaling that someone else was on his phone line. “Hold your horses for a sec Ray, I’ve got another call.” Michael pulled his cell phone away from his face and clicked to answer the latest call. He coughed and sniffled slightly before answering in a shaky voice, “Hello?”

“Michael,” Geoff responded immediately, “How are you holding up, bud? You don’t sound so great.” His voice seemed confident but Michael knew that he was concerned for his son’s health. Geoff was always known as the worry wart of the family.

“Really? Damn, I thought I was getting better,” his voice sounding suprisingly scratchy. While Michael felt a twinge of guilt for lying to his dads and taking advantage of their trust in him, he chose to ignore it. He wasn’t going back on his plans for the day, it was go big or go home at this point.

“Were you resting? You need to make sure you’re not overexerting yourself,” Geoff’s words were rushed, like he was trying to get all his concerns out at once.

“I’m resting, don’t worry. Dad,” Michael’s words were slow, attempting to calm his dad. He paused then, weighing his options, “can you hold on for a second?”

“You got it.”

“Thanks.” Michael pulled the phone away from his mouth, switching back to his conversation with Ray. “Ray, it’s my dad.”

“Oh, lovely. Keep me out of it.”

“What? Why would I involve you while talking to my dad? Nevermind, anyway. If you aren’t over here in the next 15 minutes you can find yourself a better friend.”

Ray snorted a chuckle, “Oh please, you’ve been saying that since freshman year.”

Michael retorted, “Yeah but I might actually mean it this time.” He immediately hung up the phone for emphasis, switching back to talking with Geoff. “Hey Dad, I’m back.”

“Everything okay?” Geoff’s concern had seemed to increase since the last time that he had called.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m doing about as well as to be expected. Head’s still a little fuzzy.”

“You took some ibuprofen, right? And you’re drinking lots of water?”

“Yeppers, doin’ all that,” he paused before continuing, “Look Dad, I’m sorry but all of this talking is giving me a bit of a headache. I think I’m gonna go lie down.”

“Okay, get the humidifier out, it may help with that headache if it’s caused by sinus pressure. Also, drink some Nyquil before you go to sleep, it will probably help.”

“Get some Nyquil?”

“Oh, and don’t forget there’s some food for you in the fridge. There should still be some of my stew in there from earlier this week that should still be good if you reheat it. Okay?”

Michael took a breath smiling at how much Geoff cared, “You got it.”

“Hey Michael?”

“Yeah Dad?”

“Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.” Michael hung up the phone, allowing his father to return to work and worry about him just a little less. He stared at the phone for a moment and then stood, returning to his work of prepping the place for when he would later leave. _I’m so disappointed in Ray. A hundred bucks says he’s sitting in his old beater debating on whether or not he should leave._
    
    
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    

Michael knew Ray incredibly well and predicted his friend’s actions to the tee. Ray was now in his car, starring at the steering wheel. It was a beater and significantly older than Ray was. A 1989 Volkswagen Rabbit definitely won no prizes for style. It was boxy, and the car had quite a few more dents and scratches in it than it had when the car was first produced. The gas mileage was not the greatest but hey, it was still a car. _Still better than Michael in that respect._

Ray raised his hands towards the keys to turn the ignition and then pulled his hand away as if it had been burned as soon as he touched it. He was still struggling with his decision on whether or not to go. As he began to reach for the ignition again, he heard his phone quite literally scream for his attention. He groaned, assuming that it was Michael wanting his attention again, but reached for it all the same. To his surprised, the text came not from Michael but from Ryan. Ray felt his spirits lift slightly. Ryan had a way of making Ray feel satisfied and happy. And unlike his time with Michael, this satisfaction came at no cost of frustration. As unlocked the phone to check, he saw that he had apparently missed a text from earlier.

 **09:38:06: White and Nerdy:** Did you managed to get that achievement yet?

 **10:01:02: White and Nerdy:** You must be really dedicated to that game if you can’t respond ;)

Ray mumbled a curse and quickly typed out a reply.

 **10:01:38:** sry got a distracted with smth, sup?

 **10:01:52: White and Nerdy:** It’s chill. I am so fucking jealous of you right now.

Ray raised his eyebrows. Slowly feeling his tense shoulders relax. He pushed the driver seat of his car back and lifted his legs up over his steering wheel, stretching out so his legs could rest on the steering wheel.

 **10:02:13:** i think the phrase is “its cool” rye, not chill, you dork. y r u jealous of me?

 **10:02:26: White and Nerdy:** Well excuse me for not being in with the hip lingo. Anyway, I’m jealous because you can skip school when you aren’t feelin up to it. And here I am, stuck in Doyle’s History of Theater class, relearning the art of Kabuki.

 **10:02:35:** ya but thats cause my rents dont rly, care yours do dude.

 **10:02:43: White and Nerdy:** Sorry Ray. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that you get all this freedom and can do whatever you want. I guess I’m just jealous of those opportunities.

Ray stopped for a moment and thought about that. _I really do get a lot of chances to play games all the time. But what Michael’s offering, this will probably be our last chance to do anything like this._ He considered his options before typing a reply to Ryan.

 **10:03:07:** ur right. i guess i should take advantage of that more. thx

 **10:03:15: White and Nerdy:** Your welcome, I guess?

 **10:03:23:** srsly bro, thank you. i need to go do smth real quick, brb kay?

 **10:03:34: White and Nerdy:** Okay, just text me when you get a chance. I don’t think I can deal with Doyle’s boring lecture for the rest of class, I need you.

Ray’s breath caught in his throat a bit. While he and Ryan both cared for each other deeply, they rarely admitted this. Ryan’s next text quickly put an end to those thoughts though.

 **10:03:39: White and Nerdy:** To help relieve the boredom I mean.

Ray sighed a bit and typed his reply.

 **10:03:45:** i gotcha, ill be back in a couple mins

Ray set his phone in his car’s cup holder and slid his seat forward. He sighed and then reached for the ignition. _He’ll just keep calling me and calling me and calling me. Fine then, I’ll go._ He grumbled to himself quietly in frustration and started driving towards Michael’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated. I would also appreciate if you guys could point out any typos or errors to me if you spot them. Feel free to drop by my tumblr, huntforachievements, if you would want to talk about the story, maybe give me some critiques, or just to stop by and talk for fun, that's cool too. See you next week!


	7. Three Little Ditchers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EYYYY! I'm not dead! Welp, um I'm back. And this is definitely NOT discontinued. I just haven't been able to bring myself to sit down and write lately, sorry. I finally got this finished but as you can probably guess now, weekly updates won't be a thing. I'm definitely not giving up on this fic, I enjoy it a lot but it's going to take me some time to finish it. But, it WILL be finished. Anyway, that is all I've got for you, enjoy the update. Let me know if you like it.

Mr. Doyle stood at the front of the classroom. As usual his lecture failed to hold the attention of any of his students. He understood, he talked a lot and he couldn’t deny that the majority of the texts that he had his students read were far from the most exciting literature available. Last year, he had even considered quitting, that was until a very helpful student by the name of Michael had come up to him and given him some tips. His advice? Show the students just how much you care and they will care about you back, respect you more.

His opportunity to do this had occurred just a few days later. A student had had a severe panic attack in the middle of the hallway and Mr. Doyle had rushed to help when he had heard. The young Ms. Jensen had been talked down from her panic relatively easy, apparently she had been worried about failing some project on Shakespeare in her class. Just to be safe, Doyle made sure to walk the girl to the infirmary and have her checked out. From that point on, Doyle had been treated… well not like they were more interested in what he had to teach but more like his students actually liked him. He surmised that the incident made him seem more approachable, that he was someone his students could actually talk to. And they did, they’d come to him with their problems and he was happy to help in any way he could, even if it put a strain on resources for classes. Even if they just needed someone to listen or complain to like the Kimball girl so often did, Doyle was there.

However, that didn’t really effect things in the classroom too terribly much. Though his students may like him more now that didn’t mean that they got any better at paying attention to his, admittedly boring, lectures.

Gavin sat near the back, idly flipping through photos on his phone. Jeremy nudged him, rolling his eyes at Doyle’s boring attempt at a lecture. Gavin smirked and nodded in agreement. He liked Doyle, that’s why he’d asked Michael to help him be appreciated and respected more by students. But as much as he may like the teacher as a person that did not help his lack of interest in him as a lecturer.

“In what way,” Doyle paused as if attempting to collect his thoughts before continuing, “does the author’s use of returning the victim to the hole prevent our hero from achieving his goals at this time?”

Before Doyle had finished his question, Gavin noticed the entrance of the school nurse. “Shelia”, as Ms. Lancer always asked to be called, was one of the oldest staff members in the school. Her age was exceeded only by that of her twin sister who also just so happened to work here as the Principal’s personal assistant. Shelia seemed nervous, wringing her hands and glancing briefly at Gavin as he tried to push down the smile that started to spread across his face. _Knew my boi wouldn’t let me down._ He began slowly packing up his thing into his bag and sliding on his jacket. Jeremy raised an eyebrow but said nothing in reply.

Shelia approached Mr. Doyle and began whispering something in his ear. Doyle’s worry lines deepened and he turned towards Gavin with a sympathetic look on his face. He turned back to Shelia as she finished whispering and nodded his consent. Shelia then turned towards Gavin.

“Mr. Free. Could you come down here please? I have something I need to talk to you about. Bring all your things with you.”

Gavin pointed at himself and raised his eyebrows in an attempt at looking surprised and innocent. At Shelia’s nodded reply he grabbed his already packed bag and walked to the doorway.

Shelia guided him out into the hallway, just past the window in the door so his classmates wouldn’t be able to see him. She then paused and turned towards him.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry that I have to tell you this Gavin but your father called.” As she paused to catch her breath, Gavin morphed his face into one of confusion. “You’re great aunt died earlier this morning.”

He lowered his gaze and slumped his shoulders, “What? No, she was doing so well too!” He wrung his hand a bit and pinched himself hard, just enough so his eyes would start watering.

Shelia didn’t notice the trick instead replying, “Oh honey,” before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “I am so sorry for your loss. Do you want to come wait in my office for your father to arrive to pick you up?”

Gavin looked up and rubbed away the slight water in his eyes, sniffling as his did so. “Yes ma’am. I’d really appreciate it.”

Shelia just nodded in reply and began leading down the hallway to the infirmary.

As they walked down the hall, Gavin let his eyes wander, glancing into a room that was just a few doors down from Gavin’s. He made out Ryan through the window in the door. Rye’s expression morphed from one of shock and confusion into a rage that Gavin usually reserved for his brother. Gavin immediately ducked his head back down, and continued to move towards the infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Principal Coal’s office the reaction to the news of Gavin’s aunt dying was interesting to say the least.

“His great aunt? Dead?”

Phyllis just nodded woefully in reply. “Yes sir, that’s what Mr. Free had said. Heart attack, very sudden. I had Shelia notify him and pull him from class. He’s probably waiting in her office right now, the poor dear.”

Coal’s face contorted into one of suspicion. “Isn’t his family from England? They couldn’t have waited until the end of the day to pull him from class? It’s not like they’re going to immediately jump on a flight.”

Phyllis’s frown seemed to deepen into one of disapproval. “Now Flynt that’s just rude, everyone grieves in their own way. Apparently Gavin was very close to this great aunt. She even lived here in town. They’re concerned that he won’t be able to focus on his studies once he hears the news so they’re pulling him. It’s perfectly reasonable.”

Coal just nodded in response, choosing his next words carefully. “Does Gavin have anyone who can pick up his homework in his classes for him? A girlfriend or neighbor perhaps?”

“Well it’s so difficult to tell these days,” Phyllis tsked and thought for a moment before continuing. “I do see him around with those B-Team boys a bit. Also that lovely Turney girl, I don’t think they’re dating though. No, most of the time I see him he’s with Michael Jones. Maybe on occasion Michael’s brother Ryan or Ray Narvaez.

Coal leaned back in his chair, realizing what this could possibly mean. “Could you get me Mr. Free’s daytime contact please?”

Phyllis nodded in reply and began making her way to her desk and student records system.

No sooner had she reached her desk than her phone started ringing.

“Achievement High School, Principal Coal’s office, this is Phyllis speaking how may I help you?”

“This is David Free, I’m calling about my son Gavin. Could I speak to Principal Coal please?”

“Of course, one moment.”

“Thanks, love.”

Phyllis put Mr. Free on hold and turned towards Coal, “That’s Mr. Free, he just called and is on hold for you on line one.” She smiled and chuckled, “Did you still want his phone number?”

Coal hardened his gaze towards her and she turned to retreat back to her desk. Coal reached for his phone, slowly raising it to his ear and picked up the call. “Mr. Free? This is Principal Coal.”

“Oh Flynt! This is David Free.”

“Yes. How are you today, sir?”

“About as well as to be expected. I’m sure you’ve heard, we recently had a death in the family.”

Coal cocked his head to the side, attempting to relieve the stress that had built up there, “Yes I’ve heard. Just tragic when things like this occur.” Coal rolled his eyes to accompany his sarcastic tone. Out of the corner of his eye Coal could see Phyllis turn around in surprise just as she reached the doorway. He assumed his flippant tone was probably what caught her attention.

“Yeah. Uh, yes. Well I’d truly appreciate it if you let Gavin out of his classes for the day. It’s been a very tough morning and well, we need to start making arrangements for the funeral. Getting the whole family over from across the pond won’t be easy.”

“Oh sure, ya know what, I’d be happy to. Just as soon as you produce a corpse, I’ll let Gavin out for the day. I’d like to see this dead aunt first hand.”

Phyllis’s eyes widened in shock. “Flynt!”

As Mr. Free appeared to be struggling for a response to this, Coal pressed the mute on his phone before replying. “Don’t worry Phyllis. It’s Michael Jones. Can’t you hear that ridiculous phony accent? I’m sure he’s just calling so he can get his little boy toy out for a ditch day.” He grinned spread across his face as he continued, “I’m going to trick him and trap him.” Phyllis chuckled at her boss’s cunning, choosing to stay and see how the conversation played out. Coal turned back to the phone and cancelled the mute just in time to hear “Mr. Free’s” response.

“Uh, I’m-I’m terribly sorry Mr. Coal but did you say that you needed to see a body?”

“Yep, that’s correct. Just wheel her old corpse down here and I’ll dig Gavin out of whatever class he’s stuck in.” Phyllis started to giggle at Coal’s attitude. This was a side of her boss that she didn’t get to see very often. “Completely standard school policy I’m afraid.”

Mr. Free paused for a moment before responding, “Oh. Really?”

Phyllis’s phone began to ring at her desk in the next room over. She waved at Coal and giggled one last time before turning to go answer it.

Coal nodded a farewell and continued with his questioning “Mr. Free”. “Yes. You said this was your aunt, correct?”

“Um, no. It was my wife’s mother’s sister.”

Phyllis picked up the phone for the second time in the past couple minutes, answering with the efficiency she had gained from decades of work. “Achievement High School, Principal Coal’s office, this is Phyllis speaking how may I help you?”

“Hello Ms. Lancer, this is Michael Jones. I was wondering if you could patch me through to Principal Coal please?”

Phyllis’s mouth dropped in shock. She seemed to struggle for her next words before replying, “Oh, Michael. Um, sure just, um, just one second dear.”

Phyllis turned back towards Coal’s office, rushing in in an attempt to stop him from saying anything worse. She did not succeed.

Coal had put the phone on speaker at this point, both hands woven behind his head and his feet kicked up onto the desk. “Tell you what you fuck face, if you don’t like my policies you can come down here and kiss my ass.” He then noticed Phyllis from the corner of his eye, waving at him, attempting to get his attention. Coal finished his insult, “Pucker up buttercup.” He pressed mute again on the phone before turning his attention to Phyllis. “What now?” exasperated that Phyllis was ruining what little fun he had been able to have in this job.

Phyllis’s eyes were wide with worry as she replied, “Michael Jones is on the phone for you. Line Two.”

If Coal had been holding his office phone at this point, he would have dropped it in surprise. As it was, his feet fell from the desk to the floor with a large bang. He slowly unintertwined his fingers, making his now shaking hands evident. Glaring at the flashing red light on his receiver, he switched over to the second line and picked up the reciever.

Through gritted teeth he barely managed to form “What?”

An obviously not sick voice could be heard across the line, “Oh hi Principal Coal. I’m sorry to bother you about this but I didn’t really know who else to call. I’m sure you’ve heard that I’m sick today. I was wondering if my brother Ryan could pick up all my assignments and lessons from today. Don’t want to fall behind on those studies you know. Thanks, have a good day.” Michael hung up the phone before Coal could get in a word of response.

He was glaring at Phyllis now, he had no other outlet for his anger other than his secretary. She seemed to understand that perfectly and began making a hasty retreat from the office, shutting the door behind her as she left.

Coal’s mouth had dropped open at this point. _How am I going to explain that to Mr. Free?_ He stared at the red light in front of him, seemingly mocking him with its flashes. Coal groaned, switching the phone off of speaker and picking up the hand hold before switching back to line 1.

He coughed before continuing, “Uh. Um. Mr. Free. I’d like to apologize sir.”

“Well I should hope so, you tosspot.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the Ramsey-Pattillo household, Ray busy on his cellphone. The number was blocked, courtesy of some of Ryan’s equipment, making sure that there was no evidence that could be traced back to him.

“I-I-uh-I’m- I mean,” Ray could hear Coal fumbling for words on the other side of the line. He struggled to hold back his laughter before answering.

“Well say you’re sorry for fuck’s sake. A family member dead, and you want to see the body? What is wrong with you Americans? In good old England we certainly don’t have to worry about be insulted by public schooling officials either. What the bloody hell is wrong with you?”

“Uh, Uh, um. Well, I- I mean I really don’t know. I didn’t think I was actually talking to you. I mean, the real you that is. I thought it was someone else on the line. Please understand that I would never deliberately insult the parent of one of our best students. I can’t begin to tell you how apologetic I am.”

Ray nodded in response, standing and beginning to move around the room to work off some of his excited energy.

“Pardon my language but you sir are a…a mingy prick!” Ray’s attempts at remembering Gavin’s unique choices in insults were floundering.

“Y-yes I certainly am.” Ray then heard Coal’s muffled voice yelling for Phyllis to “Get that goddamn British kid down here at once!”

“Call me sir, god damn it!”

“Y-Yes, sir. Sorry sir.”

“That’s more like it. Learn to watch yourself with who you’re talking to.”

“Understood, sir.”

Michael walked into the room as Coal had begun to respond. He had changed from his PJ’s into one of Geoff’s best suits, one usually reserved solely for when he and Jack went on their anniversary dinners. Ray had to admit, he looked good. He covered the phone receiver and reached out for his friend.

“How do you know he won’t recognize my voice? I could get in serious hot water for doing this. And not the fun Jacuzzi kind either.”                                                                                                     

Michael smirked and shook of his friend’s hand. “Impossible, you’re doing great buddy. And besides, I rigged up Ryan’s computer so that it’s distorting your voice just the tiniest bit. No way could he think it’s you.”

Ray gave a slight smile at the reassurance and then raised the phone back to his mouth.

“COAL!”

“Um, yes, uh, um-”

“Calm down you big baby.”

“Sorry sir, just having a bit of difficulty with some office issues.” His quivering voice made it difficult for Ray to hold back laughter as he continued.

“I don’t have all day to talk. Very important things to accomplish, family to call, all that bother.” Michael was smiling at Ray’s accent but nodded for him to go on. “Now, I want Gavin outside in front of the school in 15 minutes. By himself an-”

Ray felt a severe pain from the left side of his head. Michael had hit him. And not a joking little friendly smack either, a full on slap. The phone clatter to the ground. He whisper-shouted at Michael, aware that Coal could still hear them if he got too loud. “What the fuck was that for?!”

Michael’s eyes widen, giving Ray a look of instant anger that he was so well known for. It wasn’t very intense but Ray could still tell that his friend was upset by something. Michael began to whisper his reply, “Where’s your head?! That’s too obvious!”

“Think you can do a better job? You do it!”

“No.”   
“Come one bro.”

“No. Go on.”

“Fine,” Ray bent down to pick up the fallen phone. Ray coughed, trying to bring back the fake British accent and raised it to his ear. “Coal!”

“Yes, sir. Still here, sir.”

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind. I want you outside in front of the school. I want to give you a piece of my mind!” Ray felt another solid smack, this time on the other side of his head. He managed to maintain a grip of the phone but turned back to Michael with a sharp glare. “On second, though I don’t have time for your attitude. I’ll reschedule at some point.” Ray then ended the call.

He turned back to his friend, “Fucking ow! That hurt, you dick! What is wrong with you?!”

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you! How are we supposed to pick Gavin up if Coal’s going to be right there to see us?!”

Ray shrugged, raising his arms in a helpless gesture. “Well what the hell did you want me to do? I told him to let Gavin go out alone and you freaked. If you thought you could do a better job then you should’ve done it!” By the end of his rant Ray found that he had been yelling and he was panting.   
Michael sat on a kitchen stool and lowered his head into his hands in defeat. “Yeah, you’re right,” he took a deep breath before continuing, “I’m sorry I just had so much planned for today and now I don’t see how we can manage getting Gavin out of that hellhole.”

Ray too turned and sat on another stool, slowly bringing his hand up to rub his friend’shoulder. “It’s cool, man. Your day isn’t ruined. We’ll think of something. You also seem to have some convoluted plan up your sleeve.”

Michael gave a halfhearted chuckle and raised his head to look at Ray. “Right again, Brownman,” he smiled cautiously, “Sorry that I hit you.”

Ray smiled back, “Eh, you’ve done worse.” He removed his hand from Michael’s shoulder, looking forward. “So what now?”

“Well,” Michael responded. “I guess we need to find a way to go pick up Gavvers.” He thought for a moment before continuing. “And I just thought of a way to make sure that Coal won’t think it’s just a high school kid picking up his friend to play hooky.” He eyes gained a mischievous glint before he stood up, rushing out of the room.

Ray sighed. He knew that look, that look meant that Michael was gonna do whatever it took to get his way and someone was probably gonna get fucked over in the process. He yelled at the doorway that Michael had just left through, “Why do I think I’m not going to like this plan?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are my lifeblood, so please let me know if you like this. Feel free to drop by my tumblr, huntforachievements, if you would want to talk about the story, maybe give me some critiques, or just to stop by and talk for fun, that's cool too. See you in the next chapter! (Which may take some time but is definitely coming). And now it’s time for the fun to really begin!


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